Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



sA STRONG.

Breach-Loading Fire-Arm. No. 37,208 Patented Dec. 16,` 1862.

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SAMUEL STRONG, OF VASIIINGTO 'artnr trice..

N, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Specification forming part of' Letters Patent No. 37,20,

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which- F'gurel is a viewin perspective of amusket with my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. l, showing the interior mechanism. Fig 3 is a front elevation of the hinged gate and hammer STRONG, of

l I l detached for the purpose of showing its construction more clearly. Fig. L.Lis arear elevation ofthe hinged gate and hammer also detached.

rlhe nature of my invention consists in mounting the hammer upon and securing it to the hinged gate and notching the face of the hainmer at such a point in relation to the trigger that in the act of closing the gate to its seatin the breech the trigger will enter this notch and raise the face of the hammer off the cartridge; also, in dividing the projection on the gate, by which it is operated, or securing to its lower surface a spring-catch, which takes into a notch formed in the side of the breech to retain said gate in position when closed, and the arrangement of the gate, hammer, trigger, and mainspring, the gate and hammer leaving the mainspring and trigger in loading the piece, and when the gate is closed the trigger entering the iirst notch and the mainspring bearing against the heel of the hammer to retain the trigger rmly in this notch, the whole so constructed that unless the gate is fully closed to its seat the hammer cannot be raised to full cock.

Like letters indicate similar parts in all the figures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved breech-loading gun, I will proceed to describe the same in detail.

A in the annexed drawings represents the barrel of a musket of any desired kind, and stocked in the usual manner, with the exception that the stock B is divided to admit the breech C, into which the barrel A is secured, and upon which the lock is mounted and operates. This breech is slotted transversely to admit a hinged gate, D, which is pivoted at a to the side of this breech, and opens to admit the cartridge into the chamber of the barrel L, and bears against a shoul dated December 1G, 1362.

and to withdraw the empty metallic cases, and when closed retains the cartridges in the cham-V ber while being discharged, and is also slotted longitudinally to admit the lower projecting part, F, ofthe gate D-and the trigger l). Upon this hinged gate D is mounted the hammer E, which is pivoted at c to the projecting ears F. The rear face of the gateD is grooved to admit the front edge of the hammerEin part, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The front face of the hammer E is provided with notches r s at such points with relation to the trigger P that in the act of closing the gate D the pointeof thetrigger P enters the notch r and raises the face of the hammer off the cartridge and retains it in that position until drawn to full-cock and the piece discharged, or the hammer lowered to the notch o by holding the trigger P clear of the notch s. This trigger Pis retained in position by means of a scar-spring, u, bearing upon it in the usual manner. The mainspring I, operating the hammer, is secured to the tang der, z', formed on its lower rear side, and not being attached thereto by a swivel or otherwise, in order that the gate may open and close, carrying the hammer with it. Vhen the gate is open, the hammer is removed, so that the cartridge may be readily inserted into the chamber ofthe barrel, and when the gate is closed the hammer will be in position to either discharge the piece by cocking it to the notch s or to be carried'or handled with safety, the trigger bearing in the iirst notch, r, raising the face of the hammer off the cartridge, and the mainspring I, bearing against the shoulder z, holds the front face of the hammer in the groove in the gate, as shown in Fig. 2. In notching the breech C to admit the gate D, the front C to receive the barrel, which is secured therein by means of a screw-thread, Fig. 2. The hammer being' attached to the hinged gate, all possibility of premature explosion is removed, as it cannot be raised to full-cock unless the cartridge is in place in the chamber and the gate D fully closed to its seat in the breech. To retain the gate D in position while thc piece is being discharged, the handle or projection T on the gate D is halved, and the lower half, w, is pivoted to the upper half, T, Figs. 3 and 4. Projecting from the pivoted end of the lower half, w, downward, and at right angles thereto,

suflicient material is left on is a catch, Y, which takes gaged from the notch in the breech and theA gate released. Between these halves is placed a spring, x, so that when they are released by the thumb and fingers in closing the gate the lower half is thrown down in position and the gate locked by the catch V taking into the knotch inthe side' of the YbreechYG-YY YY Y Y Having thus fully described my improvements in breech-loading fire-arms, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Mounting the hammer upon and securing it to the hinged gate, and notching the face of the hammer at such a point relative to the trigger that in the act of closing the gate to its seat yin the breech the trigger will enter this notch and raise the face of the hammer off the cartridge, as described.

2. In dividing thehandle ofthe gate by which it is operated, or securing to its lower surface a spring-catch, V, which takes into a notch formed in the breech, in the manner set forth.

3. The combination and arrangement of the gate, hammer, trigger, and mainspring independent, and so constructed that unless the gate is fully closed thehammer cannot be raised to full-cock nor the piece discharged in any other position.

SAMUEL sTnoNa.

Witnesses:

JOHN S. HoLLiNGsHnAD, BAKER W. JOHNSON. 

